Dubai Cares wraps up Volunteer Emirates 2015

Today, 100 volunteers joined Dubai Cares' team in the third and final edition of Volunteer Emirates for the year 2015. The volunteers engaged in refurbishment activities to enrich the learning environment of Salma Al Ansaria Primary School for Girls in Dubai that is home to 430 girls. The third edition of Volunteer Emirates 2015 follows two successful editions that took place this year at ZamZam School in Ras Al Khaimah, as well as Ahmad Bin Rashid Primary School in Umm Al Quwain.

Volunteers helped transform the surroundings of Salma Al Ansaria Primary School into a colorful and welcoming learning environment. Activities included assembling chairs and desks to create a comfortable educational space, drawing murals on the walls to stimulate creativity, assembling recreational toys to encourage investigative play, and installing computers to facilitate interactive learning.

Commenting on the activity, Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Cares said: "Creating a safe and stimulating learning environment in schools is key to the intellectual and social development of children. It is our mandate to transform classrooms around the world into hubs of inspiring activities, where pupils and teachers can engage and where the learning journey is enhanced. Volunteer Emirates is a unique grassroots initiative that offers the local community an opportunity to make a difference to the education experience of children across non-profit schools in the UAE."

Welcoming the Dubai Cares team and volunteers at the school, the Principal at Salma Al Ansaria Primary School for Girls', Badria Abdallah said, "We are honored to have the Dubai Cares team and their group of volunteers here with us today. We really appreciate the efforts in raising awareness around the importance of education and improving educational environments. As soon as we announced the initiative internally, all students and staff got excited and volunteered to be part of it. We thank His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai for launching such successful initiatives and for supporting education locally and around the world."

Armil Mahait, one of the participating volunteers said, "Initiatives like Volunteer Emirates are very important because they give people the opportunity to donate their time and their skills for a good cause. That's why you'll see so many of us signing up to volunteer when a call for volunteers is made by Dubai Cares. We all feel that there is something in us that urges us to give without asking for anything in return."

In the UAE, Dubai Cares engages residents in a series of volunteering, awareness and fundraising initiatives that are linked to its global mandate. These initiatives include the Walk for Education, Volunteer Emirates, Volunteer Globally and the organization's annual Ramadan Campaign.